Trading Danger
by MariaGuerinCullenWinchester
Summary: Maria gets caught in something much more dangerous than teenage aliens and FBI goons on their trail.
1. Chapter 1

**Prolog**

The summer was slowly coming to an end and the reality of getting to school very soon was making itself known in the heads of the High school kids. A small group of teenagers wasn´t so relieved to get back to the halls of knowledge, knowing that they couldn´t hide from their problems any longer there.

Kyle was barely home from Football camp and the only thing he wanted was to pretend that he wasn´t aware of aliens having landed in their town. But unfortunately his father was heavily involved in covering them that he saw his chance dwindling. Now he had to find another plan to get him through this year without losing his mind or blurting out the secret to someone else and getting in trouble with the Martians. But with his newfound calm from Buddhism, he was sure that he could manage. And maybe he could finally find a reason for all this mess.

Maria had spent the last three months in Massachusetts with her Father and his new family. After all the time John had made contact to his daughter, asking her to come to his mansion to get to know him, his new wife and her step brother. At first she had declined that offer and it had taken a lot of time for her to recover from that phone call. But as soon as her head had cleared, she had realized that it could be her only chance to get the answer she had waited for her whole life. So she had packed a few things and flew with the ticket her father had sent her to the man that was like a stranger to her. But now after she was home again, she seemed to have changed. She had lengthened her hair, which was now falling in slight waves over her back and shoulders and her clothes were more daring. Even her posture was different, she walked more confidently and sure of herself. And everyone passing her noticed the difference.

Liz was the next one that had went through some changes as well. While her best friend had moved towards the babe category, she had chosen something more mature and safe. She had cut her hair into a short bob, which made her look slightly older and was emphasizing her natural beauty. The time she had spent with her Aunt in Florida seemed to have been good for her. She didn´t appear so sad anymore, although a small touch of sorrow was still clinging to her, but it wasn´t such a strong presence any longer. She seemed ready to take on her new year in high school and change the world, her original plan before the aliens had invaded their lives.

Alex had been the only one of the humans staying back in Roswell and enduring a long summer without all of his friends. But his parents had kept him busy with chores and he had managed to visit a few colleges. He was thinking about graduating early, which he could with his good grades and go to Brown University this year. The only thing keeping him from doing that were his two best friends and the only woman he could ever love. Isabel and he were the only couple that had survived the destiny bomb that had been dropped onto them and the only ones knowing how much Michael and Max had suffered all those months with the absence of their girls. But that would change from now on, because they all were home again and they would cross path with each other, if they wanted or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

**Welcome home**

Alex and Isabel were sitting at their usual booth, talking about the last few days of freedom until they had to be in school again. While she wasn´t exactly thrilled to get bored with crappy stuff that she wouldn´t even need in her future life, he was really excited. He knew that his girls didn't have any excuses anymore to avoid their other halves in school, so that meant they had to face their problem head on.

" Do you think it will be that easy? I mean with Liz maybe, but Maria? She will be harder to crack", Isabel wished nothing more than to have her brothers back the way they had been before they lost their girls. But she also knew that it wouldn´t be just a damn walk in a daisy field.

Alex put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer at his body. He knew his best friends and he was sure that they would be pudding in their hands as soon as the guys started to charm them, well at least Max would do that. Michael was a hard nut and he would be having the most trouble with his approach. But he was positive that everything would go as planned. " Don´t worry. They won´t know what hit them".

Isabel hoped that her boyfriend was right in that assumption, because she couldn´t bear to see her brother's moping alone in his room anymore, listening hours and hours to the depressing songs from Counting Crows or watch Michael trying to ignore his heartbreak by focusing all his attention on his powers. " Hopefully or else I will personally put an end to this nonsense".

" What did lover boy do this time?", Maria just caught the end of the conversation during the few minutes she could take it slow and not run around in her haste to serve the starving people. She wasn´t in a good mood since it was her first day back in uniform and of course she was the only waitress in action. Agnes was on her break again, Liz had a job interview with some Congresswoman and Jose was repeatedly hitting on her.

Isabel glanced at the human girl, wondering why she was still so surprised about the different appearance and attitude. She should be used to it by now, but it was still a shock to see Maria so radiant and confident, although she could understand why the girl needed a change, she would do the same. " Nothing, we were just talking about Max and Liz".

Maria´s expression was clearly showing her opinion to that statement and it was more than obvious that she wasn´t so in agreement with the topic. Even though she loved Liz like a sister and Max was a really good friend, she wouldn´t interfere in their lives to meddle into something that wasn´t any of their business. " Isabel, please keep your nose out of that".

" Don´t you want to see your best friend happy again? She loves my brother, but she´s too scared to see that clearly", Isabel realized with a start that the same was applying to Michael, too. Well not that he was in love with Max, but the situation in general.

Maria rolled her eyes dramatically at the other girl, knowing it was pointless to argue with the Ice Queen, she would only lose in the end and that was namely her patience. " Just leave them alone", before Isabel could open her mouth she was gone again, having noticed a man entering the front and walking to a booth.

Isabel huffed angrily while she pushed her body on the backrest, crossing her arms over her chest and sulking visibly. She wouldn´t just give up on some really good plan as long as she saw a chance to help her friends. She just wanted everyone to be happy, was that too much to ask? " She´s so damn stubborn, just like Michael".

" Who´s like me?".

Isabel startled, having not expected Michael to come here today, especially considering that it was his free day. Instantly her mood brightened and a new plan was forming in her head. She couldn´t wait to see the reaction when her brother at heart would lay his eyes on Maria after the changes she had done. " I was talking about someone at school. She has no fashion sense just like you".

Michael rolled his eyes at the dig at his clothes. He was used to that by now and it didn´t bother him anymore. Like he wanted to be a sheep like everyone else and chase after the newest trend, which was out before it was even in. He wore what he wanted and he didn't care what others thought about him. " Great. Don´t you have anything better to do than discussing my fashion style?".

" Oh yes. I like Maria´s new style. I like her longer hair and she finally dresses a little more daring", Isabel couldn´t keep her grin from appearing and she saw Alex shake his head at her obvious try. But she ignored her boyfriend and just focused on Michael, which pleased her more than anything, because he reacted just like she had predicted.

He tried to glance around without making it too noticeable and as soon as he spotted Maria his mouth was widening slightly and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. For a moment longing and love was mixing in his glance before he caught himself again and put on his stoic façade. " Great, another fashion victim".

Alex felt like pummeling the alien boy into oblivion or at least long enough to knock some sense into him. Michael was obviously in love with Maria, just too stubborn to admit the fact. He didn´t understand exactly the fear to be dangerous to others, but that was ridiculous. Going against everything he preached to his girlfriend day for day, he interfered in the love life of his best friend. " Her new boyfriend doesn´t think so. He likes the way she dresses. I even think he was the trigger for her new look".

" She got someone new already?", even though Michael didn´t want to respond to that, he couldn´t help himself. The thought of another guy doing things to her, she had only allowed him to do to her wasn´t sitting well with him.

Isabel was stunned about the words having come out of her boyfriend's mouth, but barely managed to compose her features to not give anything away, she hadn´t known that Alex was so good at lying or had even one bad bone in his body. Well she wouldn´t complain, as long as he wasn´t doing that to her and as long as it helped her plan. " Yeah, she met him during her vacation".

Alex was sure that Isabel just wanted to help, but he didn´t need it. He could easily hold his own in that matter. Besides it wouldn´t hurt to give Michael a little scare, maybe then he realized that he had to get in gear if he wanted to have Maria back. " His name is Caleb Danvers. He´s a really good friend from her step brother Tyler and he will attend Harvard next year. His family is very rich as well".

" Good for her", Michael spat before he jumped to his feet and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving his friends behind. Almost damaging the doors on his way out, he had to use every bit of his control to not let his powers overpower him.

Isabel was very pleased with their small victory. It was always a nice sight to see Michael losing his cool and act like a human being with feelings, one day the guy had to accept that it wasn´t a weakness to love someone. " Wow, I think we should definitely keep away from him for a while", turning to her boyfriend, she kissed him. " How did you come up with that so fast? His name is Caleb; he goes to Harvard and he´s rich. That was so great".

Alex slightly blushed at the PDA where everyone from school could see them. Unfortunately he couldn´t take the credit alone for that story he dished out. " I didn´t come up with it. The guy really exists and everything I said was true. The only lie is that he´s not Maria´s boyfriend, although from what I heard he wouldn´t be against the idea".

" You´re evil. Why didn´t you tell me that she was seeing someone else? Oh I have to suggest a girls night, I have to find out what I missed during these three months", Isabel calculated a date in her head, it was Friday today and Monday it was back to school, which was too long for her to wait. Deciding to screw arranging everything, she jumped to her feet and almost crashed against Maria. " You´ve got a minute? Great, so I want to do a girl's night today, you interested. Good. Come to my house at seven".

Maria shot her best friend a confused look, scratching her head in astonishment and wondering what the girl was smoking. Unfortunately Alex seemed just as clueless about his girlfriend's behavior as her and so she continued her work, reminding herself to tell her mother that she would sleep out this evening.

**Evans Residence nighttime **

Maria stood in front of the house, Liz at her side. Both girls were wondering why they were here and why they felt like they were walking in a trap. Ringing the doorbell the girls clutched their bags closer to their body, in case they needed a cushion. Their faces twisted into a mask of fear and panic.

" Why did you agree to this?"

Maria glanced at her best friend with astonishment, asking herself why it was her fault now. Liz could have told dropped out so easily with some lie, but she had chosen to come with her, so it wasn´t her fault alone. " Isabel completely took me by surprise, she didn´t even let me say anything. I did not agree to anything".

Liz felt her inside trying to escape her body. She knew that Max would be behind that door and she had actually managed to keep away from him so far. But that would change now, because she couldn´t avoid him when they were in the same house. And she would lay the blame on Maria, if the girl wanted or not. " Why did I agree?".

" Maybe to see some alien king with his soulful eyes", Maria gushed, knowing that she could tease her friend with that. Unfortunately for her, that was the moment Max opened the door and heard what she said, to the complete embarrassment from Liz. " Hey girlfriend. We´ve got an appointment".

Max tried to keep his heating cheeks in the shadows. He hated that nickname Maria had given him; it was making him question his manliness, besides he didn´t wanted Michael to overhear that or else he wouldn´t hear the end of it. " Come on in, Izzy is already expecting you".

Liz went instantly inside to escape the awkward situation. Why couldn´t her best friend shut her mouth or at least say these things when they were alone. It was one thing to tell each other something like that in private, but not in front of the door of the mentioned boy. Moving quickly to the stairs and walking up, she hoped that he would forget what he heard.

" Lizzy! Come on, don´t be like that", Maria sniggered amused, having so much fun with embarrassing everyone around her. And then Max´ face, it was just too hilarious to see them both blinking like Rudolph´s red nose. " Is it possible to share a room with you tonight? I think Liz will kill me in my sleep".

Max ´ blush intensified at the mental picture. Even though he was heavily in love with Liz and he would never do anything to hurt her, he was still a hormonal male teenager and Maria very beautiful. " Uh sorry. Michael is already crashing in my room. But if you want he´s probably not against sharing".

Now it was Maria´s turn to get uncomfortable. The topic with Michael was still a sore spot with her. He had told her he loved her and then walked away from her, ignoring her existence in the next minute. She just couldn´t figure that guy out. He was hot and then cold and then hot again. " He wishes. I think I´d rather sleep with a psychopathically murder than sharing a room with him".

" Ouch, when did you turn into this harpy?", Michael appeared besides his friend, using his sarcasm to cover how much that sentence was cutting into his heart. He didn´t want to admit it, even to himself, but he knew it had been a mistake to push her away and he regretted ever thinking that her presence hadn´t affected him.

Maria bit her tongue to prevent herself from throwing something as nasty in his direction. But after her vacation with her father, his new family and their friends she knew that it wasn´t very mature to fight fire with fire. Glancing at Max, she visibly ignored Michael. "I think the other two are waiting for me. See you tomorrow".

Max winced at the cold shoulder and he wasn´t even the wrong at the receiving end. He had always known that Maria would one day give up on his best friend, tired of trying to butt against a wall over and over again. But he hadn´t imagined Michael taking it this hard and openly showing his emotions, even if it was just a quick sparkling of his eyes. " Could you maybe not act like a jackass every time she´s near you? You would manage more if you would start treating her special or show her that you care".

" I told her that I loved her? What more does she want?"

Max shook his head, wondering how his friend had actually been able to snatch Maria in the first place. The girl wasn´t high maintenance like most of the girls in their school, she just wanted Michael to acknowledge her or give her some indication that she was more than just someone to make out with. " You told her goodbye in the same sentence, so it doesn´t count. I mean even I know that much".

Michael rolled his eyes, tired of getting lectured from the great Max, the all knowing guru. The guy had confessed his love for a girl as well and it got thrown back in his face, so he wasn´t exactly the one he wanted advice from. " Good for you".

" Come on, let´s get something to eat", Max hated that they couldn´t talk to each other like any normal guys. It was hard to show any emotion with Michael, because his friend wasn´t some touchy feeling person.

**Isabel´s room**

Liz and Isabel were already sitting on the ground and talking about what they wanted to do when Maria stumbled angrily in the room, throwing her bag on the floor with too much force and plopping down near the two other girls, who couldn´t keep their grins to themselves, knowing why their friend was in such a bad mood.

" Ahh I could kill him. I´m not a harpy! At least I´m not an asshole!"

Isabel bit the inside of her cheek to keep the mirth from showing on her face. She wasn´t sure how the other girl would react to her amusement and she´d rather avoid any situation that could get her in trouble. " What did he do this time?"

Maria rubbed her face, just wanting to forget the last two minutes and think about something nice for a change. Two days back in Roswell and she was again sucked into the abyss called Michael Guerin, so much for her resolution to move on from the drama that had been their relationship. " Nothing, I´m not here to bitch about his royal annoyingness. Let´s skip that for later".

" Okay, then we should start with the evening. Change into more comfortable clothes and we´ll continue with facial mask. I´ve got milk and honey for Liz, avocado and cucumber for Maria and the last Yoghurt, olive oil and curd is mine".

Liz had been really uncomfortable before, but now that she knew what she was facing, she felt extremely better. She could do that and maybe she would finally stop thinking about Max all the time, even though she knew that he was just next door. " That sounds like a plan. Where can I change?"

Isabel pointed at the door to her right before she went to her bed to get the red silk pajama she had thrown there earlier. Picking up the top, she noticed that Maria was still in the room and changing into an old Metallica shirt. As soon as the breasts from the other girl were visible, she noticed some mark on the flesh peeking out of the black bra. " Nice love bite, you´ve been naughty with someone".

" I uhm just bumped into the door", Maria instantly felt her cheeks flaming up and she tried to hide that fact by acting like she was busy with pulling the shorts up her legs. She had thought that thing had already disappeared and nobody would ever see it. Unfortunately it was still there and she could kill Caleb for putting it there.

Isabel was almost exploding at not knowing what happened and how far the girl had gone with this guy she had been seeing. It was so hard to not burst out with the question and she was ashamed to realize that she was close to lose the cool exterior. " Don´t give me that. Alex already told all about Caleb".

Maria looked up after she finally managed to put her clothes in her bag. Glancing at the statuesque blonde alien, she was nervous how the girl would take that revelation. She knew that Michael was like family to Isabel and she didn´t want to start a fight here. " He did? Did he tell you that it wasn´t anything serious, too?".

" Yeah, but why not? I mean from what Alex told me the guy was a dream come true. Why did you choose to let him go?", Isabel loved the human geek and she wouldn´t trade him for anything in this world. But if she would have been single and someone as rich, smart and educated as this Caleb would have shown up on her door, she wouldn´t have hesitated to tie the knot with him.

Maria would have liked to tell the alien girl that the distance relationship was not her thing or that he had been a pervert or that they both had just been rebounds. But the truth was, she couldn´t let go from Michael, not even when he was hurting her over and over again. She didn´t know if she was masochistic or if she just used to the pain, but she couldn´t stop loving the jackass. " It wouldn´t have worked with us, I´m sadly still in love with another person".

Isabel smiled; glad to realize that there were still feelings involved and everything wasn´t so lost either. She just had to get Michael to open up and admit his love for the girl and this whole mess would blow over, which would finally get them to continue with the whole Liz-Max drama thing. " He loves you, too. Even though he acts like an idiot, he had missed you a lot these three months. And he exploded when we told him about your new boyfriend".

" You told him?", Maria didn´t know if she should be pissed at them for blurting something out that wasn´t their place to tell or grateful for taking that out of her hand, although some part of her felt good that he reacted jealous. He shouldn´t think there weren´t other options for her and she would always wait for him.

Isabel felt slightly uneasy, not knowing what she had to think about that question. Was the human girl mad or not about it? Thankfully she was spared to find that out when they heard a scream from Liz and both girls stormed in the bathroom. " What´s going on?"

Maria had to keep herself from laughing at the picture. Liz was repeatedly hitting Max with a towel all the while saying that he almost gave her a heart attack. Michael was standing behind his friend, watching the scene with amusement. " Liz, stop attacking the poor boy".

" No, the pervert watched me change my clothes and he didn´t say anything".

Even though Maria could understand her friend, she didn´t think it was that bad. Putting her arms around the other girl, she dragged Liz away from Max. The guy had just done what was expected and now he got punished for his pleasure. " Any normal boy would have done the same. Believe me if some hot guy would undress in front of me without noticing me, I wouldn´t have said anything as well".

Michael lifted an eyebrow, already imaging how much she had seen from that other guy. Already the thought that she could have done things with that Caleb person, more than she had done with him was making him edgy. It was hard to notice that she let someone else touch places that had been his from the moment he had placed his hand there. " Yeah, Caleb must have liked that".

" What´s your problem? We´re not together anymore, I can do whatever I want and with whoever I want. You don´t have any claim on me", Maria was so sick of his pointy little comments in her direction. He had made it absolutely clear that it wouldn´t work between them, now he had to live with the consequences.

Michael was relieved to see her reacting to his words and he felt some kind of pleasure from the fact. As long as she fought with him, everything was still the same between them and not over. Fighting was just another word for foreplay for them and it meant that there was still hope for him. " That doesn´t mean I have to like it when you turn around and give it to everyone crossing your path".

Maria saw red and that literally. She could take a lot from that guy and she meant really a lot, but that was pushing it. Letting go of Liz and pushing the girl away from her, she walked up to him and almost ran Max over in the process. " I hope for you that you didn´t just imply I´m a slut or I will have to get very violent with you, buddy!"

" I would never do such a thing. Besides, that would mean you had sex and I know you´re not that easy or I would have already managed to get in your pants", Michael couldn´t stop himself, even if he wanted. His imagination was running wild in his head and he couldn´t get the picture from her nude body on top of another man out. It was driving him crazy to have all that scenarios and maybe find out that one of them was true.

Maria recoiled from him like his words had been a physical blow. He had said a lot to her and most of it hadn´t been nice either, but this was the lowest blow he ever dished out. Shaking her head, she knew that she couldn´t just take it like she had every single time. This once she had to hit him with something as well. " I had sex, just not with you. I´m still getting wet when I think about Caleb so hard and strong inside me; filling me out completely and making me scream".

Max knew the moment when it was getting too dangerous. Putting a hand on his best friends chest, he pushed the other boy in his bedroom again and closing the door tightly behind him. He didn´t want anyone getting hurt as soon as the guy would explode and it looked like it wouldn´t take too long for that to happen. " Calm down. She was just trying to hurt you, don´t believe her".

" I can´t stand the thought of her and this other guy, it´s driving me crazy", Michael slumped on the bed in defeat, his anger leaving him as soon as the door was closed. He just felt like he already lost a game that he even wasn´t aware of playing.

Max sat besides his friend, feeling for him. In his shoes he would be completely devastated about that, probably sitting all day long in his room and listening to Counting Crows until Isabel would pull him out of bed and make him face reality. " I can understand that. But you won´t go far with her with insulting her. Show her that you care, make a compliment or just be nice to her".

Michael snorted at the advice, knowing already that it wouldn´t work like that between the two of them. He and Maria weren´t like Max and Liz all lovesick; they were very passionate people and more into the spur of the moment thing. Everything would feel fake and not real to them. " We´re not like that. And I don´t know how I can change that"

" You have to do something or you gonna lose her to this Caleb guy. Do you want that?", Max hated to hit his brother when he was already down, but it was time to pull out the big guns and stop cuddling him.

Michael glanced at the door where he knew Maria was sitting with the other two girls, probably cursing his existence and imagine really painful ways to kill him. He didn´t know what to do at the moment. He wanted to keep away from her to make sure that she was safe from him and at the same time he didn´t want anyone else at her side. It was all so confusing and he wished himself back at the time when his only problem had been if they would find a way back home and when he could leave this hell hole. " No of course not, but what can I do?".

Max didn't know the answer to that one, seeing as he was having his own woman trouble. If he would know some way to win back Liz´ heart, he would gladly help his friend out in that matter. Unfortunately he was just as clueless. " Just show her that you care about her".

" That's very helpful", Michael reminded himself to never ask his friend for guidance again. Show her that you care his ass, he had done that already and it blew right back in his face. If anyone should make amends now it should be Maria and not him.

Max sighed, remembering that the other guy had no concept of caring for another person that wasn't his species. He was sure that it wouldn't be good if he interfered in their love life, but he couldn't see that look on his brother's face either. Isabel would probably agree with him on that and she was usually right. " Okay, I'll help you. We're going to sweep Maria off of her feet".

Michael raised a stunned eyebrow at him, wondering what brought the change, but he wouldn't complain. If it would help to get back in Maria's good grace he would do about everything, even listening to his friend.

**Other bedroom**

Isabel and Liz were still too shocked to find a coherent thought after they had witnessed the explosion of firework that was Michael and Maria. The verbal attacks had been very cruel and hurtful on both sides and they couldn't understand what brought this on. Okay, the relationship with them hadn't been a walk in the daisy field as well, but they never had been so angry with each other that they were trying to inflict pain on the other one, not in that extent.

Maria saw the stunned and surprised faces of her friends and she knew that she had done one step too far. She hadn't meant to say that, at least not like that and not when she was so angry. She felt bad for her stunt, but she knew that the damage was done and the only thing she could do now was to forget any chances that she could be with Michael again. " Say it. I know I've screwed up".

" Did you really sleep with Caleb or had that been just something you said in the heat of the moment?"

Maria wished Isabel would have asked something different or told her that she was a real bitch for hitting her brother like that. The short liaison with Caleb wasn't something she was very proud of, but she didn't regret it either. He had been a great guy and they had a lot of fun together, it had to happen. " One time, two days before I flew back here".

Liz´ eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't really believed that her best friend would do something so life altering without talking with her about it. They had promised each other to speak about it before doing "it". " Wow. And how was it?"

" LIZ!", Isabel was stunned about the curiosity of the usual shy girl, even though she wanted to know that as well. She wasn't sure if it was possible for her to have sex with a human being, so she wanted to know what she was missing. Maybe she would hear something horrible, which would make her feel better about not being able to do it in the first place.

Liz glanced at both blondes, wondering what she said wrong. She just wanted to know more about being intimate with another person; she didn't know any girls having lost her virginity she could talk about. All she heard was the gossiping from the cheerleader in the locker room and those girls were usually too drunk when it happened to remember if it was good or bad. But she was curios how it felt when the person was coherent enough to realize what was going on. " What? I just want to know".

Maria felt a slight blush covering her cheeks when she thought about the evening. Everything had started with a nice date. They had dinner at a homey restaurant, they had talked about everything and they laughed a lot. At the end of the evening he brought her to the door of the huge mansion his father owned. They kissed and before she knew it they had been in her room, their clothing were missing and the only sounds were moans and groans. " It had been wonderful. Caleb had been really nice and he took his time to explore my body before we... you know did it. He had been gentle and careful. Afterwards he put his arms around me and kissed my head before we fell asleep".

" Was he there when you woke up the next morning?", it sounded so wonderful and Liz didn't understand why her friend hadn't waited to experience it with someone she loved, someone with unruly hair and a pissy attitude. It seemed like something that should be shared by people who loved each other.

Maria was still in her fantasy world, just that Caleb was replaced with Michael. She wished he would have been the one to give her so much pleasure. Even though she had feelings for Caleb, she hadn't loved him like she loved her spaceboy. If they both would have taken that step, it would have meant something more. " Yeah, he made me breakfast. And he survived the inquisition from my father and my step brother".

Isabel saw the dreamy look from the girl and she felt guilty for not joining the happy wagon with her. She was worried what Michael would think when he would realize that it hadn't been just something to hurt him, but the truth. He would be heartbroken to know that she had shared something intimate with someone not him. " Why did you do it when you still love Michael?"

" It just happened, you know. We had a nice evening and before I knew it we were desperately clawing our clothes off. I don't know what possessed me to be so wild, but I don't regret it".

Liz couldn't believe it, her best friend wasn't a member of the V Club anymore. She had always thought they would talk about taking the next step before doing it, but she was glad that Maria at least had a good time and that it had been happening with someone she barely knew or didn't have feelings for. " Have you, you know…..had the big O?"

Maria smiled at the description of her friend, even though they were old enough to call it by their real name. Of course she had an orgasm, Caleb had already experience with women and so he really knew what he was doing and how he had to do it to give a lot of passion. She was still blown by how spent she had been the next day. " Yes, twice. Why you want to know?"

" I'm just curious, that's all", Liz blushed at the underlying meaning from the other girl. She just wanted to have a comparison when she would experience her first time so she could find out if it had been good or not.

Isabel shook her head and in that moment she noticed the two heads peeking through the door to the bathroom. Instantly she realized that both of her brothers had listened to their conversation and they knew about what they had talked about. For a moment she saw the devastation in Michael's eyes before he noticed that they were busted and turned away from the door. Max followed after him shortly after, but not before throwing his sister a small smile.

Liz and Maria were very obvious to the exchange and were in a heated discussion which movie they should watch during their beauty program. It seemed to be becoming a battle between Pride & Prejudice and Pearl Harbor. Thankfully Isabel wasn't so thrilled about old costume flicks, which ended that they were watching Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck in action. Putting on their mask, arranging their junk food and drinks they made themselves comfortable on the floor in front of the TV in the living room. After a while the boys joined them quietly as soon as they heard the explosions going on. But despite the tension earlier, the rest of the evening was very harmonic and peaceful, which was probably because Michael and Maria ignored each other the whole time.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

It was already two weeks into the school year again and Maria wished she could be back at the mansion with Tyler and the others, enjoying the vacation away from aliens, homework and broken hearts. Michael was strangely nice to her, asking about her well being, listening to her tirades about Jim being constantly at her house and just seriously freaking her out with all the attention. They had talked about their little outburst a few days after the incident and they had decided to become friends before doing anything else, which had been odd, because it had been his idea. So far it was going good and they had built something solid, but it was still slightly strange.

" Stop day dreaming Maria! The food doesn't serve itself", Michael bellowed from the kitchen, hitting on the bell repeatedly to make her notice where she was at the moment. It was becoming a habit of hers to space out here and there.

Maria was glad that he hadn't changed completely or she would have been sure he had been snatched from aliens ( no pun intended ). Glaring playfully at him she walked in his direction to get plates of hot food. " No need to get your boxer's in a twist, spaceboy".

Michael was relieved that they were on good terms again and she was calling him spaceboy, which he hadn't known he would miss until she had stopped doing it. Max was sometimes really good with his advices, although the guy never managed to apply them to his own love life, but in this instant he had been right. He and Maria were getting closer and closer everyday. It was nice to do something the right way for once and to make her laugh instead of crying. "I hope you were at least dreaming about me or else I will have to talk to Mr. P".

" I always dream about you, honey", Maria blew him a kiss before taking her tray with the steaming plates and marching towards the booth with the couple. Handing out their orders, she groaned when she saw a huge crowd of people standing outside the restaurant, clearly wanting to come in every second. Wishing the two at the table a good appetite she instantly alerted the other employees about the coming flood of paying customers.

Liz was stunned when the school class, according to the uniforms, walked inside and sat at different tables. She glanced at the many hot boys and the snobby chicks at their sides. It was probably a school excursion for a project or something, because they didn't look like people that would pay for coming to Roswell. Squaring her shoulder, she went into autopilot and thought about the evening with a nice hot bath.

Maria had already finished the first few booths and was in the process to get another batch of menus to some weird looking girls when someone grabbed the skirt of her uniform. Whirling around to slap whoever dared to put his disgusting hands on her, she was slightly shocked and happy to see it wasn't a perverted hormone driven teenage boy. " Oh my god! What are you guys doing here?"

" Well most of our class mates thought Salem is getting boring, so we decided to switch to Roswell".

Maria couldn't believe it, her step brother was here with his friends Pogue, Kate and Reid. Ignoring her work for a moment she put the menus on the table before throwing her arms around Tyler, almost squeezing the life out of him. She had missed the guy more than she had thought possible. " It's good to see you again".

Tyler laughed about the nice greeting, having missed her more than he wanted. After knowing she was there and gotten to know her, he felt lonely without her at the mansion and hearing her complain about the lack of privacy. " Yeah, right back at you".

" Hey we want some hugs; too", Reid jumped to his feet and slightly bumped his friend out of his way to wrap his arms around the girl that had captured all of their hearts. Just too bad that she had no taste in men whatsoever or he would have showed her what he learned from his father.

Maria smiled at the warm feeling at being so accepted into this tight knit group, especially with knowing their secret. They were all special in their own way and she felt honored that they hadn't hesitated to introduce her into their circle, which usually no one was allowed to join. Suddenly she was thrown out of her thoughts when she felt hands wandering to a spot where they weren't supposed to be. " Hey Reid stop that!"

Reid grinned impishly, squeezing her butt just to spite her and to finally stop fantasizing about doing it. Pulling back before she decided to slap him senseless, he was stunned when he saw the cook behind the counter glaring at him. Not backing down from the death glance thrown in his direction he wondered if the guy was the famous Michael that had broken his friend's heart. " Who's the dude with the scowl?"

" That's Michael and I suggest if you want to have your food without any poison you better take a seat and keep your hands to yourself", Maria winced slightly when she saw the look, she knew what it meant and she had enough experience to be far away from him as soon as he would explode.

Reid shared a glance with Tyler and before anyone could do something both were already in the middle of making their way towards the back of the restaurant. Thankfully Pogue and Kate reacted instantly and could prevent the boys from going through with her stupid idea to confront one angry alien.

Maria shook her head at them, even slapping the back of their heads for pulling that stunt with a room full of people when they walked past her. Thanking the other two for acting so quickly, she took the menus again and went back to work, all the while feeling Michael's heated gaze on her. She knew that she couldn't avoid him her whole shift through, but she wanted to stall as long as possible, which wasn't as long as she hoped for, because all those guests wanted food. " Okay I need one Eclipse Deluxe, one basket of Saturn rings and two Martian Surprises".

" Who are they?", Michael had felt something dark clinging to them and he didn't like the fact. After all he had enough trouble with his own life; he didn't need some new people who could complicate everything a little bit more.

Maria rolled her eyes, although she knew that he couldn't see it because he was already busy with letting his darker mood out on the raw meat on the grill. She had to keep herself from grinning; because since he knew that she had been intimate with another man he was even more uptight about anyone with a penis near her. " That's my stepbrother Tyler and his friends Reid, Pogue and Kate".

Michael glanced over his shoulder at the table where the group was sitting and he noticed that two of the boys were staring angrily at him. A low growl was sounding from deep inside him, making Jose beside him look up in surprise. Clenching his teeth, he turned back to work and swallowed the words he wanted to say, because as much as he didn't like them here, he didn't want to lose ground with Maria.

" Hey man, calm down. No woman is worth to get worked up like that", Jose put a reassuring hand on his co workers shoulder.

Maria wanted to tell him that he shouldn't make such a big out of this small visit from people she loved, because they wouldn't be here that long anyway, but then she was distracted when a man with a lot of flowers was coming through the door. Liz was instantly at his side and according to the smile the girl was probably getting something from her lover again. Max didn't know the word impossible and he didn't give up so easily. " Great, just what I need, a reminder that everyone has a love life, except for me".

Turning her attention back to making a few alien blasts, she missed the moment her best friend started giggling like a school girl and was making her way fast towards the milkshake machine. " Uh Maria, you've got a present and the guy has special orders to give it to you personally".

" What? I think I misunderstood something. Did you just tell me that those nice flowers are for me?"

Liz´ joy was hitting a new level and she was smiling like some damn fruitcake all over her face. She couldn't contain her happiness, her friend deserved to get romanced once in a while, even if she wasn't so thrilled that it wasn't from Michael at all. " Yes. I'm so jealous of you, the flowers look really expensive".

Maria had never heard such a sentence out of her friend's mouth, especially in terms of their boyfriends or love interests. Still slightly in a daze, she made her way to the person almost covered by the huge bouquet in his hands. For a small moment she glanced back at the kitchen to see if Michael was acting differently, like if the nice gift were from him, but he was facing the grill and the only thing she could make out was the tension in his back. Turning back to the wall of flowers, she was momentarily stunned when the face behind it was very familiar to her. Caleb Danvers. " Oh my!"

" Didn't think you would see me so soon, did you?"

Maria opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but for once words failed her. She hadn't imagined him to come here in her hometown and especially at this point where she was heading towards something solid with Michael. He chose the worst time to romance her, but before she could voice her doubts Caleb already pressed her at his body and kissed her passionately in front of the whole restaurant.

Liz, Max, Isabel and Alex almost swallowed their own tongues at the picture, Poque, Reid, Kate and Tyler were very happy for their friend and one angry alien soldier was not exactly glad about that, which ended with a small fire breaking out in the kitchen.

" What do you think you're doing?", Maria pushed Caleb away from her, repressing her instinct to kick his ass for forcing himself on her like that. He couldn't just come here and smooch on her like he had any claim on her.

Caleb was confused about the rather rude welcoming. He knew that she had said that they would never work because she was still in love with her ex boyfriend, but he had thought that she would at least be a little happy to see him, after all they had shared a bed with each other and it had been coming from both sides. " I missed you and I wanted to show you that".

Maria rubbed her face while she sensed that Michael was shooting daggers at her with his eyes. It felt like she was in a damn nightmare and nobody was there to tell her how to get out of it again. Blowing a big gush of air out of her, she wondered how she would get out of that. It had been a great idea and she felt flattered in some strange twisted way, but he had chosen the worst moment to come. It wasn't like she wasn't happy to see him, he was after all a good friend to her, but she couldn't need the reminder that she hadn't waited for her spaceboy right at this point. "I'm sorry, I missed you, too. Sit down; I'll be with you shortly".

" I'll be waiting".

Maria noticed the heated gaze from Michael burning her backside while she got more menus, but she was a coward and avoided any eye contact with him, knowing already that he wasn't very thrilled about the arrival of her bedmate as he had called Caleb. It was still a sore spot between them and the only thing that was still standing in the middle of their relationship and keeping them from actually leading one. Walking back to the table where her step brother and his friends were sitting, she gave them the menus. " Okay what do you want to drink?".

Tyler glanced from his friend to his step sister and he wondered why the welcome had been rather frosty between them. He had thought that there was something going on, something solid. " I´ll have an Alienblast".

The others voiced the same order, just with one exception. Kate wanted an iced tea with lemon. Maria wrote down everything before she told them that she would be back with their order. Walking slowly and with a bad feeling behind the counter to get the drinks, she instantly recognized the heated gaze burning her. " Don´t look at me like that, I didn´t know he was coming".

" That´s the famous Caleb, he? The guy that popped your cherry", Michael spat out the other man's name with venom. He didn´t want to sound too jealous, but seeing his competition and realizing that the guy had everything, money, the looks and the confidence, it was making him angry at her for not choosing someone less perfect.

Maria was so sick of fighting about this topic over and over again. They had made such an enormous progress in their relationship so far, they were building a foundation before doing the house so to speak. But every once a while a tornado would blow over it and get the whole building to totter on the fringe of destruction. " Would you finally get over it, I´m not with him. I want to be with you".

Michael hated that he felt so small and unimportant, like he was not good enough for her. It wasn´t the first time he had that feeling, but for the first time he knew that she would have to chance to start something good with someone that would be able to provide for her, be the perfect man for her, whereas he was barely able to fend for himself. " That kiss told something different".

" Oh god, get over yourself. It was just a kiss and not a frigging peepshow", Maria took the tray with the drinks and marched to the booth where her other friends were sitting. According to their expression, they had witnessed her small fight and tried to be as innocent about it as possible. " Here are your drinks", giving everyone their glasses, she pulled her notebook out of her uniform again. " Can I get you anything to eat?".

Tyler wasn´t sure what had been spoken during her short heated conversation, but he saw that his step sister was close to explode and whatever the guy had said to her had really angered her. " What´s going on? Is your ex giving you any trouble?".

Maria sighed while she tried not to glance over her shoulder back at the kitchen. She could understand Michael's point and if the situation would have been reversed she would have probably kicked the girl's ass out of town, but this was her. She wasn´t someone who cheated on the person she loved and she was very faithful, he should know that and trust her. " It´s nothing, he´s just a little edgy".

" It´s because of me, isn´t it? He´s jealous", Caleb knew that he probably shouldn´t do it, but he couldn´t keep the grin from his face. It would serve that jackass right to feel the pain that she had felt after he left her.

Maria rubbed her face with her hand and she sensed that more people would get hurt because of her. She should have never slept with him and she should have never started something she would have known had no future. Caleb wasn´t just someone she could just write off as a one night stand. They had built a great friendship in the time they had been together, especially with them having lost someone they loved. That had connected them and she didn´t want to lose that, but she knew that she couldn´t have both. " Of course. We had been on the way to mend our broken relationship, but with you coming here and romancing me it didn´t exactly help our situation".

Caleb lost his good humor as soon as he heard that. Everyone had told him that he should forget that evening, cherish it as a wonderful memory and move on. But he hadn´t been able to do that, a part of him couldn´t just let her go without at least trying to make her change her mind about him. " I´m sorry, I didn´t want to make everything more complicated for you".

" It´s okay, you couldn´t know that. If it helps, if I wouldn´t be so in love with that ox behind me, you would have succeeded with your plan to woo me", Maria managed a small smile at him. If he would have been one year earlier she would have thrown herself at the guy, she would have probably chained herself to him, but now her heart was already taken.

Caleb could live with that, at least she hadn´t denied that something had been going on with them. And she had told him in a roundabout way that she wasn´t so resistant against his charm, just that she was already taken, so he thought that everything wasn´t lost yet. Relationships didn´t hold forever. " Better than nothing".

Maria shook the bad mood off and realized that she was still working, so she whipped out her pad and pen to write down the order from the booth. The guys and the girl were probably hungry and not interested in her twisted love life. " Have you even looked at the menu yet? I don´t have all day, you know".

" You´re not thrilled to get tipped, hu? The service here sucks", Reid quipped besides her, feeling a little neglected from the conversation and he had to distract himself from walking straight to the guy to give him a lection about treating the people he cared about with respect.

Maria stuck her tongue out at him, glad that the depressing feeling was lifting. The last thing she needed was more tension right now. " So guys what do you want or should I come back later?".

Kate had already taken a peek in the menu and she knew what she wanted. It was easy for her, because there wasn´t so much healthy food in the selection and the only thing that had sounded relative edible to her. " I´ll take the Neptune Salad without the cheese".

" I´ll take the Martian Special with the Saturn rings and a piece of Men in Black pie", Tyler could have eaten a horse if it would have been in the menu, but so he decided to start with something that would be filling his stomach.

Maria wrote that down and had to smile when the remaining guys followed their friend's order. Telling them that she would be back soon with their meals, she made her way to the kitchen, knowing that it would probably get into the second round with her and Michael. Preparing herself for the worst, she slammed the piece of paper on the counter. " Four Martian Specials with Saturn rings and one Neptune Salad".

Michael took the order and instantly went to work, ignoring the waitress waiting for an acknowledgement from him. But instead of getting into an argument he thought it was better to save that for when no paying customers were present anymore.

" Great, the silent treatment. I missed it", Maria turned away from him and prepared the four pieces of Men in Black pie for her table. She didn´t even realize that Liz was standing besides her, giving her a compassionate look and then glaring at the big lug sweating in the kitchen, she just concentrated on the last two hours of her shift before she could escape the safety of her own room.

Then she would forget that today happened and try to erase everything about it. Taking a peek at Michael´s back, she wished he would trust her more. She hadn´t ever done anything to give him any reason to distrust her in any way, unlike him and she still stood behind his back, supporting him. Sighing, she knew that it would be better to leave him be until he calmed down, everything else would just make it worse.

Caleb watched Maria and he saw the way her shoulders were hunched. He instantly realized that there was tension between her and the guy in the kitchen, the only obstacle in his path to win her heart. Why was she doing that to herself? He would be so much better for her in every aspect. He would never try to make her unhappy, he would always treat her like the princess she was and he would always make sure that she was protected from anything that might harm her.

" Hey man, you think it had been a good idea to come here?".

Caleb turned to Pogue and he saw the concern in his friend's eyes. He knew the reason for that look and he was glad to have someone like him at his side, but in that moment the worry was unnecessary. " I had to. You read the message just like everyone else. I couldn´t just leave her alone".

Tyler kept his gaze on his sister and he wondered if she would ever realize what his friend felt for her, how much he would risk for keeping her safe. It was strange that he didn´t feel any anger towards him, although he as her brother should be really pissed at the other guy for sleeping with her, but oddly he wasn´t. " Are you sure that he knows anything about her?".

" He wrote that I obviously had a thing for blondes and my new piece was even better than the one before", how much more proof did they need until they believed him? Caleb wasn´t one for overreacting, he was usually the level head in the group, but since his last girlfriend had been caught in the middle of a private war, he was a little bit overprotective.

Reid should have known that it had been too easy to get rid of their last problem and that it would come back to bite them in the ass. They had to act as a unit; that was the key that would make them invincible to the evil. " Should we tell her about the danger or leave her in the dark?".

Caleb didn´t know which was the better choice. On the one hand, she could prepare herself for an attack any time and could take action into starting measurements for her safety. On the other hand they could worry her for nothing, making her afraid of something that would never happen. But he was rather on the safe side in this. " We let her in on our reason for being here".

" Hey guys, here is your food or at least part of it", Maria came back to the table with a tray full of plates. Giving out half of their order she noticed their strange behavior and was confused what had changed. " Don´t worry the food isn´t poisoned, I swear".

Caleb exchanged a glance with his friends and he saw everyone nodding at him. Taking all of his courage he grasped her arm to prevent her from leaving the table again. Noticing the thunderous look from the cook, he was sure that every wrong move now could be his last and he pulled his hand back, wanting to keep his limb attached to his body. " When are you finished here?

Maria felt like there was something going on and she seemed to be stuck in the middle without knowing what it was. Letting her gaze over the faces at the booth, she recognized that their expressions were concerned staring back at her, even Kate was openly showing her feelings. " In two hours. Why you wanna know?".

" I have to talk to you".

Maria didn´t think it was a good idea to be alone with him, especially now that Michael was already angry with her for just being in close proximity with him, although they were surrounded by a lot of people. If he found out that she was meeting him she could kiss any future plans with him goodbye. " I don´t know, I don´t want to get into more trouble right now".

Caleb understood her train of thoughts, she didn´t want to give her ex boyfriend any reason to mistrust her again. But he couldn´t take those guy's feeling into consideration at this point, not when he had reason to believe that she was in danger from something that was worse than a fight with her lover. " Please, I wouldn´t ask you if it wouldn´t be so important".

" Okay fine, where are you staying?", Maria hoped that her mother wouldn´t throw a fit for staying out so long on a weekday or she was in deeper shit than she was now. Hopefully the Sheriff could keep her busy for a little bit longer, even though the thought was seriously disturbing.

Tyler instantly wrote down the hotel and the number of their room on a piece of paper. He thought it would be better if he would be the one giving her the address and he wanted to give his sister a little break from the big bore in the kitchen. Sliding it towards her, he had to smile when he saw how quick she was putting it in the apron of her uniform. With a smile she went back to work.

**Closing time**

Maria had never been so glad that a day went by than she was now. Firstly her fight with Michael and the shift from hell where he ignored her existence and then those private school jackasses, who thought touching her butt, was on the menu as well. Thankfully Pogue, Kate and Tyler had been able to keep Reid and Caleb from pummeling them into the oblivion. And she got a lot of tips today, so she hadn´t any room to complain.

Sitting at the counter and taking a breather before she put the chairs on the table, her eyes landed on the bouquet of flowers, her first time that she got such an expensive gift from a guy. She felt flattered that Caleb wanted more from her, even though they both lived in different worlds. She and her Mom managed to come by with their money whereas he was so rich that he never had to worry about anything financial in his life.

" You need any help?".

Maria startled at the voice, having thought he would have gone by now. Turning to Michael leaning through the service hatch, she was a little surprised that he was talking to her. She had imagined that he would give her the cold shower a tad bit longer than just a few hours. " No. You can go home. I just put the chairs up and then I´m gone, too".

Michael had watched her throughout the evening and he had noticed that he maybe had overreacted. She hadn´t seemed like she was really happy about the appearance of that guy and that had made him a little delighted. Unfortunately he wasn´t very good with words and so he tried it in his own way to apologize to her. " Are you sure? I could help you and save you time".

" Thanks for the offer, but it´s not necessary", Maria had received the unspoken plea to forgive him and told him in a roundabout way that she accepted, but wasn´t in the mood to join a wild make out session with him. Not tonight at least, she was too tired and she still had a meeting with a group of guys that had been strangely focused on her all evening.

Michael knew when he had to give in and so he said goodnight before he closed the kitchen. Walking towards his bike, he glanced inside again and saw her starting to pull the chairs up. Sighing in defeat, he drove away.

Maria was relieved when she heard the sound of the bike fading in the distance. Hurrying with her last task, she finally asked herself what Caleb wanted to talk to her about. The look in his eyes had been weird, like he was keeping her in his sight to protect her. But she was probably just imagining things; the late evening and her lack of rest was surely making her paranoid. Sweeping her gaze around the dining area, she nodded in satisfaction that everything was done and she could leave this place. Walking in the backroom, she almost stumbled over the trash can standing in her way.

" Wonderful. Thanks Michael", he had certainly forgotten about it when he wanted to help her. Rolling her eyes, she decided to take it out as soon as she was finished dressing. Going to her locker, she pulled her clothes out and started to change. Just as she was in the process to let her uniform pool at her feet, she noticed a cold breeze blowing on the back of her neck, making the hair standing up straight there.

Turning around she scanned the room, hoping that it wasn´t Michael who had changed his mind about her plans, but there wasn´t anybody with her. Shaking her head she scolded herself for overreacting like that. Smiling at her stupidity she dressed quickly before she took the trash and made her way to the dumpster at the back of the restaurant. Opening the lid and throwing the bag inside, she noticed too late the shadow moving in the corner of her eyes. Before she was able to react, she felt something hard hit her head and then everything went dark around her.

TBC


End file.
